Ashland University Education Program Ranks High

ASHLAND, OH, February 03, 2013 (Press-News.org) Teachers who graduate from Ashland University are well prepared and AU's Early Childhood Education students exceed expectations when compared to the average graduate of other Ohio education programs, according to a new report by the Ohio Board of Regents.

The Ohio Board of Regents recently released its inaugural Educator Preparation Performance Report for 2012 for all Ohio higher education institutions that offer teacher and principal preparation programs.

"The report reaffirms what has been evident for many years - that Ashland University is a leader among teacher education institutions in the state of Ohio," said Dr. Frank Pettigrew, provost at Ashland University. "Our teacher education program has consistently performed at a national level regarding standards identified by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Ashland University has a well-documented history of Teacher Education excellence."

The report showed that Ashland University's Early Childhood Education program is one of the strongest in the state of Ohio, scoring above average in all but two of the 49 scoring categories in the Pre-Service Teachers Survey results.

"We are very pleased to see that the report shows our Early Childhood Education program ranks as one of the top programs in the state of Ohio," said Dr. James Van Keuren, dean of AU's Schar College of Education.

Van Keuren also noted that 100 percent of Ashland University students passed the PRAXIS licensure test and 98.9 percent successfully completed their student teaching.

The statewide report evaluated 51 programs at Ohio institutions, resulting in 500 performance reports. The board also will issue one state report and a separate report for each of the 51 institutions.

The report rates graduates of teacher education and principal license programs for all Ohio higher education institutions using value-added academic performance metrics for students in public schools. Linking student assessment data to specific institutions and programs is a critical component of Ohio's participation in the federal Race to the Top grant.

The report analyzed data on graduates who received their teacher or principal licenses between 2008 and 2011. Data are based on grade 4-8 reading and math achievement tests, classroom data from the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years and building-level data for principals from the 2011-12 academic year. The report includes 68 percent of Ohio teachers of reading and math in grades 4-8 serving in public or district-level administered community schools and 100 percent of principals.

Although the Board of Regents will utilize the metrics included in the performance reports for program review and approval, the reports do not include a ranking of programs and do not assign letter grades. Future performance reports will be published at the end of each calendar year. Reports will be available to the public via the Board of Regents website at https://www.ohiohighered.org/educator-accountability/performance-report.

The following are highlights of the report for graduates of Ashland University's teacher education program:
• Graduates posted a 100 percent Praxis II passage rate across teacher licensure programs for the 2011-12 academic year — compared to a 97.2 percent state passage rate.
• The report included value-added data for 68 Ashland University graduates (1,078 graduates of all Ohio preparation programs); of this number, 22.06 percent were in the Above Expected category (compared to 20 percent of all Ohio graduates), 66.18 percent were in Met Expected (compared to 68 percent of all Ohio graduates), and 11.76 percent were in the Below Expected category (compared to 12 percent of all Ohio graduates).
o Ashland University graduates taught in a higher percentage of academically excellent and excellent with distinction schools; 37 percent and 19.4 percent (compared to 31 and 16 percent average for all Ohio graduates).
o The average ACT score for all Ashland University completers was 24.1 (compared to state average of 22.8).
o Ashland University requires 580-740 field experience hours, which is about 50 percent higher than the statewide average of 459-490.
o Ashland University has a 98.9 percent student teaching completion rate (compared to a 94 percent statewide average).

According to Van Keuren, the report also shows that Ashland University plays a significant role in preparing Ohio principals.

"It shows that a significant amount, more than 20 percent, of the state's newly licensed principals for whom value-added data were reported graduated from Ashland University," Van Keuren said. "It also shows that nearly 20 percent of all the newly licensed principals in the state from 2008 to 2011 graduated from Ashland University's program. That says a lot about our program."

The following are highlights of the report for graduates of the Ashland University's principal licensure program:
• The report included value-added data for 51 program completers in principal positions (248 principal license program completers of all Ohio preparation programs); of this number, 39 percent were in the Above Expected category (compared to 27 percent of all Ohio completers).
• Ashland University admitted 140 students to the internship necessary for completion of the licensure in 2012, well above the state average of 41.8.
• A very high percentage, 97.14 percent, or 136 candidates, completed the clinical experience, compared to the state average of 79.43 percent.

Ashland University, ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report's National Universities category for 2013, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.